Come hear our visitor from Bethlehem

[Jan Miller]

Greetings!

We invite you to a very special opportunity as we seek to respond in solidarity beside our siblings in Palestine and Israel.  Attached please find information about the presentation in Denver on July 28 and the presentation in Boulder on July 29.  The 7 p.m. session on Wednesday, July 29 will be livestreamed. The registration link is in the attachment.  While we request registration for both the in-person and the livestreamed opportunities, please know that your registration for the in-person session helps the planners, but such registration is not required.  We hope that you will share this information broadly and attend!

Our presenter will be Shadin Nassar who serves as the the ELCA Middle East North Africa Associate.  She will provide updates from the ground, as she is based in Bethlehem, Palestine.  She will offer reflections on the sumud (steadfastness) of Indigenous Palestinian Christians.  The attachment tells more about our guest and co-worker Shadin.

As you prepare to attend, you may find it useful to read this Resolution about Palestine and Israel which was overwhelmingly agreed upon by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in July 2025.   Here is the link.  

Toward Ending Occupation of Palestine Resolution August 2025 

Additionally, the next link is to a guide about the Resolution.  It is for individuals, small groups and congregations as they study, learn about, discuss and respond to the Resolutions callings:

CWA Resolution Resource

These weeks Shadin is visiting several of the 65 synods (geographical areas) of the ELCA https://www.elca.org/. We are fortunate that our Rocky Mountain Synod (RMS) is one of them!  For questions or to learn more, please respond to this email message or call or text me at (701) 527-4342.  Among those assisting with plans for this important visit by our co-worker who lives in Bethlehem, a volunteer team, of which I am a part, meets monthly for this purpose:  RMS SUMUD responds to occupation and injustice in Palestine and Israel through accompaniment, advocacy and awareness-raising with our partners in the Holy Land and in the ELCA.